Microsoft Word Chapter 1 done doc

 
7.0 OBJECTIVES 
 
After studying this unit you should – 
• Understand how attitudes are formed and the process of 
development of attitude. 
• Know when and why attitudes influence behavior. 
• Techniques of changing attitudes such as persuasion and 
cognitive dissonance. 
7.1 INTRODUCTION : 
Attitudes are dynamic phenomena that interact with all other 
elements of an organism. The concept of attitude originated in the 
United States. Allport described it as probably the most distinctive 
and indispensable concept in contemporary American Social 
Psychology. In their study of the Polish Peasant, Thomas and 
Znaniecki used the term attitude extensively. Often the term attitude 
is identified with prejudices, biases, states of readiness, beliefs or 
ideas with an emotional tinge. 
Attitudes exercise a great influence on the life and 
behaviour. Attitudes indicate the direction and intensity of response 
of the person to stimuli. They reveal the drives which lead to some 

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form of behaviour. It is a clear fact that every individual has a vast 
array of attitudes: e.g., Attitudes towards health, children, food, 
clothes, God, pets, etc.
 
Definition : 
 
Attitudes refer to a mental and neural set of readiness, 
organized through experience exerting a directing or dynamic 
influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and 
situations with which it is related. ...................... Gordon Allport. 
An attitude is a readiness to respond in such a way that 
behaviour is given a certain direction. According to Allport attitudes 
are three types : 
1. Social Attitudes 
2. Attitudes towards specific persons. 
3. Attitudes towards specific groups.